


here for the long run

by QueerWinter



Series: we never let each other go [3]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, No Smut, Stand Alone, Swearing, Very Mild Exhibitionist Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueerWinter/pseuds/QueerWinter
Summary: The heist is over, the money is safe and fairly distributed between them, Jooheon has been dropped off at his house, and now Changkyun is tired and all he wants is to get back to his own home and to his gorgeous boyfriend (or fiancé, more accurately).
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Im Changkyun | I.M
Series: we never let each other go [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128806
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	here for the long run

**Author's Note:**

> **January 2021 note** : This fic is fully stand-alone. Though it's chronologically the 3rd part of this series, it was posted first. If you come here from having read part 1 and/or 2, please be aware that there is a time-skip of months/years between the previous parts and this one.
> 
>  **November 2020 note** : I was bias-wrecked by Hyungwon very hard and then I feverishly wrote this in one sitting at 1 am and proof-read it this afternoon
> 
> The aesthetic of "Love Killa" was very inspiring
> 
> I picked the title from lyrics of League of Legends’ song "Take Over" because I’ve been listening to it a lot the past few days, including a few times while working on this

Changkyun, getting back into his car and slamming the door closed, turns the ignition back on. The heist is over and the money is safe in their respective hideouts. _Finally_.

Changkyun is just a glorified courier; it’s Jooheon who does most of the job, planning the robberies and enrolling trustworthy associates (as trustworthy as anyone can be in this line of business anyway). Technically, Changkyun is always stationed nearby on D-Days, tasked to be ready to help him get the fuck away in case it ever goes south, but Jooheon is too good at what he does and no job has went wrong in years. So Changkyun gets the cushy part of the job, the driving under the cover of night with the looted money in the trunk of his stolen car of the week. He gets to blast his favourite songs through the radio, and to have Jooheon by his side, Jooheon who’ll either chat with him with that manic grin on his face or make him laugh by doing stupid things like leaning out the window.

Jooheon is a good thief, an excellent thief, and he’s an even better friend. But that doesn't mean Changkyun wants to linger here even a single minute more. The heist is over, the money is safe and fairly distributed between them, Jooheon has been dropped off at his house, and now Changkyun is tired and all he wants is to get back to his own home and to his gorgeous boyfriend.

(Or fiancé, more accurately. Kind of. They’re figuring it out. They don’t want some kind of Vegas wedding, but that means getting fake identity papers that hold up in court, and so they need to find the right forger, a forger that also has to be trustworthy enough to not reveal to everyone in the criminal world that _yeah, maybe I.M and Hyungwon_ aren’t _just fucking, maybe they’re in love, they even want to get married_ , because then they’d become each other’s weaknesses and that could be used against them and urgh. So yeah. It’s a whole mess. They’ll find a way eventually.)

He breaks a few speeding laws on the way, but it’s whatever; the policemen that _do_ patrol this area aren’t the kind that will care. Finally, fucking finally, after what feels like an eternity (but is actually 17 minutes) he parks in the back of Fatal Love. A true dive bar, that one, but no one comes to Fatal Love for her drinks; they come for the basement and its fight club. Home sweet home, he thinks with no trace of irony as he gets his key, unlocking the door of the employees’ entrance and making his way inside the mostly deserted bar. He can already hear the ruckus of the crowd, and he snorts. Still so lively despite the very late – or very early – hour.

He climbs down the stairs and weaves his way through the people, keeping a curious eye on the current on-going fight. The familiar smell of sweat, alcohol and blood settles some of the tension his exhaustion had brought into his frame. Then the view of his boyfri– his fiancé does the rest, and when he reaches Hyungwon he’s grinning, the irritation brought out by his fatigue having receded. Hyungwon is looking at the fighters, looking damn good in his red leather jacket (though it’s not like anything would ever look bad on him), gazing at the ring like a king looks at his kingdom. The comparison is accurate. After all, everything belongs to him here.

Changkyun has no doubt he’s been noticed already. He’s proven right when Hyungwon doesn’t even glance at him as Changkyun sidles up to him, close enough for their shoulders to brush. “Red is your colour,” he says with a pointed, appreciative once-over. He feels a tinge of satisfaction when the corner of Hyungwon’s lips twitch as he fights a smile.

“You said that about purple last time,” Hyungwon answers, amused. He takes off the red-tinted glasses he's wearing, putting them down on a table. The sound of his velvety voice is enough to make Changkyun shiver. He recalls that Hyungwon has complimented his voice often: when it gets scratchy in the morning because he’s still half-asleep but he got up anyway to make coffee for the both of them; when he uses it to whine playfully and make Hyungwon laugh; when it catches on moans and pleased sighs when he’s being sucked off…

Changkyun thinks he should return the compliment more often, because Hyungwon’s voice is a reminder that home isn’t just a place, that home may be this building and this city but it also isn’t, because if it all burned to the ground, he’d be fine as long as he still had Hyungwon by his side. He should return the compliment more often, because Hyungwon’s voice makes him feel safe the way his mother’s singing and his father’s phone calls used to.

Changkyun has already forgotten what they were talking about, the exhaustion catching up to him. He must have taken too long to answer because Hyungwon looks down at him. His expression is guarded and his gaze a little cold, the way it always is when they’re in public, and he slides a hand under Changkyun’s jacket to hold his side. Changkyun has no doubt that from an outside perspective it looks possessive. To him, it just feels warm. Hyungwon’s eyes search his face, the slight furrow in his brow both a question and an indication of his concern. Changkyun meets his gaze head-on and Hyungwon seems to read the right answer in his eyes – the job went fine, he’s just tired – because he relaxes.

Hyungwon’s hand disappears from his side, at which Changkyun fights the urge to whine. It felt good, grounding. His dismay disappears when Hyungwon’s hand tangles in his hair instead. Then Hyungwon leans down to capture his mouth in a kiss. Changkyun feels all the eyes on them and a thrill of exhilaration goes down his spine. His lips part and Hyungwon understands him instantly, tightening the hand in his hair until the pull is near-painful, licking into his mouth and biting at his lips harshly enough that Changkyun will still feel the sting for a while afterwards. Warm satisfaction curls in his gut.

They break away. Hyungwon’s thumb softly brushes against his jaw. Then Hyungwon brings his mouth close to his ear to whisper. “I still have some things to settle here. You should go get some rest.” Changkyun meets his eyes again, seeing the apology in his gaze. He sighs, but he’s not surprised. He nods.

He steps back, watching the way haughtiness and indifference bleed back into Hyungwon as he turns back into the ringmaster. Changkyun has to admit that he quite likes it, that he’s the only one that gets to see the rest of him. Hyungwon’s aloofness, his lazy streaks, his dry humour, his ambition, his gentleness, his occasional clingy moods, his quiet strength… Hyungwon lets him see all of it. Changkyun could say he’s lucky, but he’d rather attribute it to the life and relationship they’ve built together over the years.

As Changkyun walks back and climbs the stairs, he wonders with amusement about what the people that saw them think Hyungwon might have whispered to him. Maybe they’re theorizing that he told him what he would like him to wear (or to take off), or maybe how he would like him to prepare himself? So far from the truth, but they’ll let people see what they want to see. It’s convenient for them when they get to the wrong conclusions all by themselves.

He climbs the second, hidden set of stairs that leads to their apartment. The sound-proofing is sub-par so he still hears the screams of the fights and the clamour and taunts of the spectators and gamblers, barely muffled by the bar floor that’s between the basement and their apartment, but it’s been so long that by now the sounds have almost become a lullaby – and it does have the perk that whenever they fuck, they can be as loud as they want.

(The soundproofing from the ring to the _outside_ of the building, however, is better. They don’t want the few strait-laced neighbours they do have to call the police on their ass all the time – though, of course, many officers are quite the betting men themselves.)

Once he’s inside, he doesn’t even turn on the lights, toeing off his shoes before navigating the apartment thanks to the weak glow of the moon alone. It doesn’t take long for him to brush his teeth, take off all his clothes except his boxers, and burrow into the bed under the covers. He didn’t remove his makeup, and Hyungwon will certainly give him shit about it because he’s the one that has to suffer Changkyun’s whining when his skin breaks out, but that’s a worry for tomorrow. He falls asleep quickly.

He wakes up a first time when the noise from the basement starts dying down. He notices a few faint sun rays and remembers he didn’t pull the curtains closed before laying down, but he’s back asleep before he can even think of getting up and doing something about it.

He wakes up again when he feels someone in the room, and then it suddenly gets darker, but he opens his eyes and relaxes as he recognizes Hyungwon, who’s just finished closing their opaque curtains. (Hyungwon can fall asleep anywhere, anytime – provided it’s safe enough around – but Changkyun doesn’t rest well when it’s not dark enough.) He mutters a ‘thanks’, and the word, as mumbled as it is, is unrecognizable, but hopefully Hyungwon gets the sentiment. Changkyun watches him with half-lidded eyes as Hyungwon gets underneath the covers and settles on his side, facing him. Changkyun shuffles closer, eyes closing again. “Stop wearing clothes in bed,” he complains, slightly more coherent, and Hyungwon snorts. He doesn’t answer, but he hums, pleased, when Changkyun slips a hand under his shirt.

Changkyun’s feet brush against Hyungwon’s ankles, and the latter jolts. “Why are your feet so damn cold?” Hyungwon grumbles. Changkyun barks out a faint laugh, the sound still lined with tiredness – he has only slept four or five hours, at most. He opens his eyes and catches the way Hyungwon is looking at him affectionately. Even when he notices Changkyun’s gaze, he doesn’t try to hide it. Changkyun wraps his arm more snugly around his fiancé, tangles their legs and buries his face in his neck, and he feels Hyungwon’s arm drape over him as well. Hyungwon’s skin smells like the fancy body lotion they bought together as a joke and then discovered they loved, and Changkyun realizes he must have taken a shower just before getting to bed. His hair is probably still slightly damp, Hyungwon never wants to dry it properly.

Changkyun’s thoughts trail off as sleep slowly comes over him again. The last thing he feels before he falls asleep is a kiss in his hair.


End file.
